Freedom equals booze. Or Repeal. Or something.

Dare I say it that this particular entry – short as it will be – almost didn’t happen. I’m putting this down to the fact that I’ve only just settled in and unpacked all glassware and whatnot, a feat slightly more impressive and interesting by the fact that I have to carry my newly-bought, second hand bookcase from the charity shop to my house, a scenario that was as utterly energy sapping as this piece of trivial information is boring.

Still, back to the subject of booze, and today is the 77th anniversary of the reversal of the 18th Amendment, which brought to an end to ‘The Great Experiment’. The scenario was almost a reversal of a great event; it came in with a wimper as salons and bars passed away in the night (in theory anyway), with bartenders going undercover or going abroad. When 5th December 1933 rolled around, more people were drinking more than ever anyway, and were more than happy to shout about and make a fuss when they were able to drink in public.

However, before I start to runaway with the actual subject of the end of prohibition (I’m not going to lie, there are other drink guru’s out there who are doing it better than me; click here, here and here for links), let’s stop, think, and make a drink.

The Boulevardier

45ml Bourbon

25ml Campari

25ml Sweet Vermouth

Add all ingredients to mixing glass. Stir with love and think about those dark days in 1920s USA. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a cherry. Express the oils of an orange peel over the surface of the drink, rim the glass and discard. Serve.

The drink is taken from Ted ‘Dr. Cocktail’ Haigh’s Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, who in turn sites it from a 1927 bar guide written by Harry MacElhone, one of two books he wrote in his bartending career.

The drink, as Dr. Cocktail notes and which everyone will have guessed before reading this, is a Negroni on Bourbon, albeit with a slight increase in favour of the base spirit.

The drink takes its name from The Paris Boulevardier, a monthly publication that was edited in Paris by writer Erskine Gwynne.

The great thing here is that Campari was one of numerous bottles of booze to make it into the US during Prohibition, under the guise of that ‘medicinal purposes’ malarky, mainly because authorities thought that there could be no way that it could be consumed as an alcoholic beverage; Laphoriag Islay whisky fell into this category too, and for the same reason.

The original version called for a 3:2:2 ration, which makes the bourbon a little hard to rear its head (that said, it does depend on the bourbon). Holding back on the other ingredients a little makes a difference, though it’s probably best to use a bourbon with a decent rye content, such as Buffalo Trace or Wild Turkey. If you do this, or you use a rye whisky, try a twist of lemon over the surface.